


1985

by 576p



Category: South Park
Genre: 80's AU, Friends to Lovers, Homophobia, M/M, Rating May Change, Slow Burn, because i love 80s aus, there are other ships in the fic i jus didnt think it was relevant to tag them, this is kinda going to focus on what it's like to be in a gay relationship in the 80s
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-04
Updated: 2016-12-04
Packaged: 2018-09-06 07:56:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,048
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8741482
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/576p/pseuds/576p
Summary: Tweek hadn't been in South Park since 1979. Things were ultimately the same, and in the six years away, his friends grew into their personalities and segreated to their supposedly respected cliques. Except Craig. Craig was different.





	

**Author's Note:**

  * For [pandainpanties](https://archiveofourown.org/users/pandainpanties/gifts).



> This is like... my first (serious) fic...  
> It's rated as Mature because i want to have smut in later chapters, but i'm not sure if i can pull it off...  
> Just wanna give a big thank you to my wonderful and talented gf panda who was also my beta!!! They insisted that i should write a fic so... here it is....  
> Hope you enjoy it!!

Tweek took a step outside and breathed in the cold air. It had been six years since he last woke up to one of South Park's snowy, chilly mornings, and Tweek had forgotten how cold they could actually be. His mum had told him to bundle up, but Tweek didn't expect it to be _this_ cold.

The 8th of October in 1979 was a day he remembered clearly. Young 11-year-old Tweek was sitting at the kitchen table of this very same house, drinking his first morning coffee out of his favourite white mug, when his father came bursting in the room, wearing a smile on his face unlike anything Tweek had ever seen.

“They approved it, honey!” He said, hugging Mrs. Tweak.

“Oh, Richard, that's wonderful news!” She answered, standing up to kiss her husband on the cheek. Tweek watched his mother's eyes, bright and excited, as if she had been awaiting this moment more than his father.

“Tweek!” Mr Tweak turned to his son. “We're opening up shop in Los Angeles! Los Angeles son! We're going to live in the big city! Who knows how much our business will grow!”

Tweek immediately started shaking. He didn't want to leave South Park. He didn’t want to leave his hometown, much less his friends. He was scared of what lied ahead of him and of how much his life would change. He needed to calm himself down, and he did so the only way he knew how. He took a sip of coffee.

So a month later they closed up shop in Colorado, and off to California they went.

However, Tweak Bros. Coffee LA wasn't too successful, partially due to the fact that it was far from downtown Los Angeles. They had few customers since their coffee was overpriced, and most people in the neighbourhood couldn't afford it. The constant fear of being hit by an earthquake didn't help either because Mrs. Tweak was terrified after a customer told her about the San Fernando quake in '71, even though it had hardly affected Los Angeles.

Mr. Tweak was then forced to face reality. His dream of being a successful coffee entrepreneur in Los Angeles was being crushed before his eyes. He spent months struggling to pay the bills, and eventually he just couldn't afford to keep the shop open. So 6 years and one month after they left South Park, on the 8th of December of 1985, the Tweaks were back in South Park, unpacking their suitcases in the same home that they had never managed to sell.

 

'It's going to be ok,' Tweek told himself 'You still remember where your friends live!'

Except he doesn't.

And he hasn't spoken to them in 6 years.

Or anyone else from South Park as a matter of fact.

“We'll send you letters! Postcards! ” Token told him.

“I'll reply to everything!” He answered, vibrating slightly.

“Don’t worry, we won’t f-f-for-forget you,” Jimmy added.

Yet the letters stopped coming, and the last thing he ever got was a postcard with a picture of Colorado on the back from Clyde in 6th grade, telling him he had failed his math test again.

Tweek didn't really know what to do. He had already told his mum that he was gonna go out, so he might as well go see if he can find his friends.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, he woke up because of the light coming through the half-closed blinds in his room. He turned to face the other side and closed his eyes again, falling into a light sleep. His breathing was shallow, and he wore a t-shirt that used to belong to his grandfather.

Slowly, the cold air started to get to him, and he woke up once again covered in goosebumps. His mind was filled with thoughts of the pointless dream he had just had, memories of yesterday still blurry. He looked around. Where was he? What was this room? He didn't recognize the cupboard on his left or the desk in front of the window. Even the cross above his bed's headboard was different. Tweek took a slow, deep breath, and that's... when he remembered.

He recalled the cold air. The snow crunching beneath his feet. He left home yesterday, a little lost, not knowing where to go. He thought of going to see his friends again, but what would he say? 'Hi, I'm back after 6 years because my dad's LA coffee shop dream didn't work out! Let’s pretend this never happened and go back to how it used to be'? Like that was ever going to work.

So he walked. He wanted to go somewhere, but he also wanted to go back inside. He shivered a little, unsure if it was because of the cold or his anxiety. Step after step, he took in what he saw. He hadn't been on these streets in years. Being here felt surreal, like a dream of his childhood that would leave him a sour taste on his tongue when he woke up.

Some people that looked around his age stared at him like he was some sort of alien. He wondered if they recognized him because he sure didn't recognize them. This particular girl, short with long red hair, squinted when she saw him, as if she knew him and was trying to figure out who he was. They locked eyes briefly, but quickly Tweek looked the other way, trying to avoid any unnecessary conversations.

As he walked past things, certain memories came back to him. He saw the bush where Clyde had hid that time in 4th grade when everyone forgot about him and went to get ice cream together, while poor Clyde was still sitting behind the twigs, waiting to be found. He saw the tree where Craig's brand new basketball had got stuck, and they had to use Jimmy's crutches to try and take it down. They had obviously failed, and Jimmy ended up with his crutches stuck in the tree, along with the basketball.

Between all his reminiscing, he didn't even notice he had reached the park. He took a good look at it. The basketball court was exactly as he remembered it. He crossed the street, and entered it, passing by the old grey metal fence that surrounded it. There was no one to be seen, which was somewhat a relief. He walked towards the other side of the court. The basketball hoop didn't feel as distant as it used to. Did they reduce the height of the hoop? Or had he just gotten taller?

The paint on the benches beside the court was chipped and looked like it hadn't been renewed since he left. He sat on the edge of the bench furthest from the exit, and looked at the pirate ship in the sand area where Kyle's brother Ike liked to play. Had Ike grown up too? Did he still play in the pirate ship?

Tweek buried his face in his scarf, and that’s when he heard two voices.

“Oh come on, Token! Stop it!” He heard a girly voice giggle. Tweek froze. Had he heard her correctly? …Token?

He turned his head ever so slightly to take a glance at the couple. A tall boy and what looked like his girlfriend sat on the bench closest to the exit of the park. He wore a colourful jacket with all sorts of designs on it, and a gold chain around his neck. The girl, however, wore a beige topcoat and had her beautiful black hair tied in a bun at the top of her head. She put her hand on the boy’s chest, and they continued chatting. They only stopped when her eyes met Tweek's and she realized how he was staring at them. This drew the boyfriend’s attention, and he turned his head to look at whatever his girlfriend was staring at.

“What is it ba-” He stopped, and squinted his eyes, trying to get a good look at Tweek “Tweek?”

“Uh um .. Uh, T-Token!” Tweek didn't know what to say. He thought he was prepared to see his old friends again but he wasn't. He just smiled sheepishly, as Token stood up and walked towards him, telling his girlfriend to come with him.

“Where have you been, man?” Token asked looking down at his childhood friend. Only now did Tweek realize how _tall_ Token had actually become.

“Uh I just, just.. Came back from LA today,” He answered. He was shaking. A lot.

“Tweek Bros. Coffee LA didn't work out for your dad?”

“No.. we had to co- come back.”

“I can see you've still got that shaking problem of yours.”

Tweek froze. It was really embarrassing for people to comment on his jittery habit.

“Ah no this is just because it’s uh.. cold...”

“Alright man,” Token sat down next to Tweek, and invited his girlfriend to sit on his lap, which she happily did.

“Tweek, meet my girlfriend, Nichole,” Token said, gesturing to his girlfriend.

“Hi, I'm Nichole!” She smiled “Nice to meet you! Are you a childhood friend of Token's or?”

“Yeah! I- We used to be really good friends until I moved away in.. fifth grade.” Tweek said, avoiding eye contact “Him, me, Craig, Clyde and Jimmy”

“Jimmy?” Nichole faced her boyfriend “You never told me you were friends with Jimmy before?”

“You guys don't get along anymore?” Tweek asked, as he started to realize that what once was no longer exists.

“That was in fifth grade!” Token told Nichole “Our group kind of fell apart when you left Tweek. In seventh grade we ended up going our own ways.”

'Oh,' Tweek thought. But he didn't speak. Getting back with his friends was not going to go... how he had planned it to go. The cold air nipped at his nose, and he covered it with his scarf. He knew it would muffle his voice, but he didn't really want to say anything. They sat there in silence for a couple of minutes, when Nichole spoke.

“Hey Tweek,” He turned to look at her “Do you want to go see your old friends? I know where Clyde and Craig are at right now.”

“S-sure,” His voice muffled, but understandable.

 

* * *

 

Token and Nichole walked side by side, Token's arm around her waist. Tweek trailed on behind them, feeling slightly out of place. He _hated_ being the third wheel, though he was used to it. He was always third wheeling his friends back in Los Angeles,  so although it was uncomfortable, it was a sort of a habit for him.

They headed out of the park and turned right. They passed by Tokens enormous house. It looked exactly as he remembered it, with its big gate at front and a security officer standing by it. The lights next to the front door were the same, the wooden garage door hadn't been replaced either.

It was strange, honestly, how much things could change but also stay the same after such a long time. The gate was still black but a different shade than what it was before. The security guard was different, younger than the other one, but he was still a security guard, standing at Token's house's gate. And Token was still Token, despite his deeper voice and the extra inches he had grown while Tweek was away.

The sun shone through the clouds, and soon Tweek started opening his jacket. After a while, they reached South Park's mall's parking lot.

“There they are,” Nichole told him, pointing at a group of cars parked out of place in the empty area of the parking lot. He saw a bunch of kids his age, and immediately recognized a couple, although he didn't know most of them.

He saw Clyde, with a mullet of some sort, kissing a girl with long curly blonde hair, who he assumed was Bebe. Leaning on another car were Stan, Wendy, Heidi, and Kenny, idly chatting with each other. A girl that looked like Lola was leaning against a boy, who had his arm around her. He was facing the opposite direction from Tweek, so he couldn’t exactly tell who he was. It was only when he turned to look at Token, that Tweek recognized him.

It was Craig.

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you so much for reading!! It really means a lot to me...  
> I'm sorry if the format is kinda messed up, this is my first time posting and I don't really know how this works lmAO  
> If you could leave a comment with some constructive criticism or something i'd really appreciate it!!  
> I'm on tumblr 576p.tumblr.com and on twitter @nyuttin btw!!  
> Thank you again


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